Casper Ruud vs Francisco Cerundolo Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Italian Open

Prediction published on 17/05/2023, 03:28  by Daniel Ngulu | Modified on 17/05/2023 at 05:17 in Tennis Predictions

Fourth seed Casper Ruud and 24th seeded Francisco Cerundolo meet in the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters on Wednesday. Ruud has lost twice to Cerundolo in their three past encounters with both matches played on clay. The two met earlier this season in Barcelona where Ruud lost by straight sets. Ruud will however be confident of a win as he has been superb in this tournament. He has dropped only one set in three matches here, and beat the unseeded Laslo Djere for the loss of only four games to reach this round. The world number four has been excellent on clay to offset a rocky campaign on hard courts. He has 14 wins this season, from 23 matches; nine of those have come on clay, with one title secured. The Norwegian won the Estoril Open on his debut making it nine tour titles on clay. He will hope for another sustained run here to build momentum for the French Open later this month.

Francisco Cerundolo is yet to win a title this season. He hasn’t advanced to a final either, but has been strong on clay and will hope this propels him further in the competition. The Argentine is on his second appearance in Rome and has already set a new personal best by reaching the quarterfinals. Cerundolo lost in the first round last season on his debut. Advancing to the last eight has nudged him up three places to number 28 in the live rankings. He can set a new career high if he wins on Wednesday. On clay, he has won 10 of his 17 matches this season. He has however had to play a deciding set in his three matches in Rome, twice coming from a set down. To get to this round he defeated eighth seed Jannik Sinner. Coupling this with his dominance on clay against Ruud, he will be confident of reaching the semifinals. The winner here will face either top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic, or seventh seeded Holger Rune in the semis.